BUZZ-U.S. STOCKS ON THE MOVE-AcelRx, Pinnacle Entertainment, Macerich

Reuters Staff

5 Min Read

(For faster updates on individual market-movers, Eikon users please use search string "STXBZ US"; for the Day Ahead newsletter, link.reuters.com/mex49s; for the Morning News Call newsletter, link.reuters.com/nex49s) U.S. stocks opened little changed on Monday, after two straight weeks of declines on major indexes and as the benchmark S&P 500 comes off its biggest one-day loss in about two months. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.31 percent at 17,911.91 and the S&P 500 was up 0.05 percent at 2,072.37}.

** APPLE INC, $127.33, +0.58 pct

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Monday is expected to announce details of the first product developed under his leadership, a watch that Apple hopes will transform the market of wearable technology.

** PINNACLE ENTERTAINMENT INC, $32.49, +18.49 pct

** GAMING AND LEISURE PROPERTIES INC, $35.4895, +9.64 pct

Gaming and Leisure Properties said it had offered to buy the real estate assets of casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment for $4.1 billion including debt.

** ACELRX PHARMACEUTICALS INC, $5.77, -33.98 pct

AcelRx said the U.S. FDA had asked the company to conduct an additional clinical study on its pain drug. The regulator rejected the drug, Zalviso, once last July.

** CTI BIOPHARMA CORP, $2.81, +6.04 pct

The company said its experimental blood cancer treatment achieved the main goal of a late-stage study.

Data from the study showed that the drug, pacritinib, was significantly better than the “best available therapy” as prescribed by the patients’ physician to treat myelofibrosis.

** GENERAL MOTORS CO, $37.43, +2.44 pct

The U.S. car maker said on Monday it would launch a new, $5 billion share buyback in an agreement with dissident investors, and put forward a more detailed plan for capital allocation that promises investors the potential for further cash returns.

** WHITING PETROLEUM CORP, $37.24, +9.43 pct

North Dakota’s largest oil producer is seeking a possible buyer, according to the Wall Street Journal, but a person familiar with the board’s thinking told Reuters he was not aware of any such plan.

** ALCOA INC, $13.84, -4.42 pct

** RTI INTERNATIONAL METALS INC, $38.38, +40.69 pct

Alcoa said it would acquire titanium supplier RTI International for $1.5 billion, or the equivalent of $41 per share, in an all-stock transaction as it continues to invest in more profitable products for the aerospace and automotive industries.

** SIMON PROPERTY GROUP INC, $181.34, +0.42 pct

** MACERICH CO, $91.8, +5.86 pct

Simon Property, an owner of malls and outlet centers, said it had offered to buy real estate investment trust Macerich in a cash and stock deal for $22.4 billion including debt.

The offer $91 per share is premium of 4.9 percent to Macerich’s Friday close.

** MCDONALD’S CORP, $97.75, +0.64 pct

McDonald’s worldwide sales at established restaurants dropped for the ninth straight month, falling a steeper-than-expected 1.7 percent in February as sales in the United States were hurt by “aggressive competitive activity”.

** AVEO ONCOLOGY, $1.67, +11.33 pct

RBC Capital upgraded the stock to “sector perform” from “underperform” and raised its price target to $3 from $2.

The company on Friday presented data from a mid-stage study, which showed patients with low protein levels in their blood could benefit from its experimental cancer drug, tivozanib.

** BLACKBERRY LTD, $10.1501, -4.87 pct

Goldman Sachs cut its rating to “sell” on the stock, forecasting widening losses in 2016 and 2017, rather than a return to profitability.

“In 2015, the turnaround efforts shift from cutting costs to driving revenues - a more challenging phase that we think will fall short of expectations,” said Simona Jankowski, rated three stars by Thomson Reuters StarMine for the stock’s coverage.

** FOOT LOCKER INC, $60.47, +1.85 pct

Foot Locker reported a better-than-expected rise in same-store sales, a reason the stock could surge another 20 percent this year, according to the March 9 edition of Barron’s.

The retailer is scheduled to present a new financial plan on with targets on March 16. (Compiled by Rohit T.K. in Bengaluru; Edited by Maju Samuel)